Defiant PM ‘reassures’ unionists

· September 21, 2018 ·

Unionist leaders have warmly welcomed the Prime Minister’s pledge that there will be no regulatory or customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK post-Brexit. In a frank address to EU leaders at Downing Street on Friday, a defiant Theresa May vowed she would not assent to Northern Ireland being “permanently separated economically from the rest of the UK by a border down the Irish Sea”.The remarks will have come as music to the ears of her partners in government, the DUP, who have repeatedly and emphatically stated that any move which puts trade barriers between Northern Ireland and Great Britain is a red line for the party.Speaking after Mrs May’s statement, DUP leader Arlene Foster said the Prime Minister has made it clear that she “will not countenance any new regulatory or customs barriers” in the Irish Sea. Mrs May clarified that, under her alternative backstop proposals, “no new regulatory barriers should be created between NI and the rest of the UK unless the NI Assembly and Executive agree”.In response, Mrs Foster warned that her party would veto any attempt in the Assembly “to undermine the economic or constitutional integrity of the UK”. Delivering her short… Read full this story